I’m going to catch a lot of flack for this. I do not see the problem. EPISD hasn’t been educating for many years. While EPISD tries to blame teachers it is administrations’ fault for not letting them teach instead of indoctrinate, and teach to the test. Parents deserve the right to send their children to whatever school will teach. Charter schools provide an alternative to costly parochial schools and indoctrination centers, however they have criteria that does screen out those who not interested in an education. That does mean funds for students are shifted away from public schools, maybe leaving public schools with the students and parents only interested in getting by, obtaining a diploma by any means, and not in education. It also means not as many teachers at charter schools will join teachers’ organizations. In the end you have parochial schools with the students whose parents can afford it, charter schools for parents interested in education without religion and the rest sitting in public schools.
Parents already have the right to send their kids to the school of their choice. It’s no different than anything else. They have to be willing and able to write the check.
I read this and it isn’t just EPISD she is talking about. She says all El Paso public schools. Imagine how opening an Idea School in San elizario would affect that small district or any of the small districts around here.
I agree with Mike Schwartz. We have too many parents in this community who expect schools to raise their kids for them and those kids consume resources and slow down learning for kids who want to learn. EPSID’s enrollment will continue to drop whether charters are there are not, because involved parents realize that simply throwing money at mediocrity doesn’t change it. And don’t blame it on socioeconomics or parental education levels. When I worked in Mexico, most of the Mexican engineers and managers I knew came from poor families with parents who hadn’t finished grammar school. The message at home growing up was get an education so you can have a better life. My husband’s parents were also high school dropouts (because they had to work to help their families). All three of their kids went to college. Charter schools aren’t the problem. Corruption and incompetence in public schools combined with lazy parenting is the real issue. Charter schools just help parents that want to get out of that mess have another option.
IDEA only teaches to the test. I know, I taught there for a year and then left. If a kid doesn’t pass, then they are sent packing back to public school.
Teaching to the test is really an old argument against teaching to a set of standards. In the old days teachers taught whatever they wanted, usually ignoring the state standards which are basically the specification for what is supposed to be taught in any given course or grade level. Do we not also give contractors specification when they are building things like roads or bridges with tax dollars? High stakes testing has made teachers accountable for teaching what the state mandates; they hate this infringement on their freedom by the people who pay their salaries, but that is life. Whoever pays the piper gets to call the tune. I’m not a fan of a lot of the baggage that comes with accountability, but let’s not go back to the good old days when educators could do whatever they wanted in their school for classrooms. Anyway, the good old days are over rated (that’s when segregation was still on the books). Even the unions want to move forward (not backward) in education. Maybe the key to getting it right is public participation. It’s good to see people here getting excited about education!
elpasospeak 
I’m going to catch a lot of flack for this. I do not see the problem. EPISD hasn’t been educating for many years. While EPISD tries to blame teachers it is administrations’ fault for not letting them teach instead of indoctrinate, and teach to the test. Parents deserve the right to send their children to whatever school will teach. Charter schools provide an alternative to costly parochial schools and indoctrination centers, however they have criteria that does screen out those who not interested in an education. That does mean funds for students are shifted away from public schools, maybe leaving public schools with the students and parents only interested in getting by, obtaining a diploma by any means, and not in education. It also means not as many teachers at charter schools will join teachers’ organizations. In the end you have parochial schools with the students whose parents can afford it, charter schools for parents interested in education without religion and the rest sitting in public schools.
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Parents already have the right to send their kids to the school of their choice. It’s no different than anything else. They have to be willing and able to write the check.
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I read this and it isn’t just EPISD she is talking about. She says all El Paso public schools. Imagine how opening an Idea School in San elizario would affect that small district or any of the small districts around here.
LikeLike
I agree with Mike Schwartz. We have too many parents in this community who expect schools to raise their kids for them and those kids consume resources and slow down learning for kids who want to learn. EPSID’s enrollment will continue to drop whether charters are there are not, because involved parents realize that simply throwing money at mediocrity doesn’t change it. And don’t blame it on socioeconomics or parental education levels. When I worked in Mexico, most of the Mexican engineers and managers I knew came from poor families with parents who hadn’t finished grammar school. The message at home growing up was get an education so you can have a better life. My husband’s parents were also high school dropouts (because they had to work to help their families). All three of their kids went to college. Charter schools aren’t the problem. Corruption and incompetence in public schools combined with lazy parenting is the real issue. Charter schools just help parents that want to get out of that mess have another option.
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> slow down learning for kids who want to learn.
Disruption of poorly-behaved students is worse, IMO, than the slowing-down issue.
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Charter schools can easily kick kids out for bad behavior or bad grades, it is very difficult for public schools to do either.
But, on the other hand, yes we are teaching way too much to the test in EPISD. I have learned a harsh lesson in that this semester.
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IDEA only teaches to the test. I know, I taught there for a year and then left. If a kid doesn’t pass, then they are sent packing back to public school.
LikeLike
Teaching to the test is really an old argument against teaching to a set of standards. In the old days teachers taught whatever they wanted, usually ignoring the state standards which are basically the specification for what is supposed to be taught in any given course or grade level. Do we not also give contractors specification when they are building things like roads or bridges with tax dollars? High stakes testing has made teachers accountable for teaching what the state mandates; they hate this infringement on their freedom by the people who pay their salaries, but that is life. Whoever pays the piper gets to call the tune. I’m not a fan of a lot of the baggage that comes with accountability, but let’s not go back to the good old days when educators could do whatever they wanted in their school for classrooms. Anyway, the good old days are over rated (that’s when segregation was still on the books). Even the unions want to move forward (not backward) in education. Maybe the key to getting it right is public participation. It’s good to see people here getting excited about education!
LikeLike